The dark side of human nature in Shakespeare play Macbeth

How far are you prepared to go to get what you want? A single of the themes in William Shakespeare’s play Macbeth is greed. How a humble person can turn into a savage and uncontrollable beast just for wanting a lot more. In the play Macbeth, William Shakespeare shows humankind as dark and immoral. Shakespeare displays the negative side of human nature by means of 3 of the major characters. Banquo who seems to be noble but he fails to resist to his desires. Secondly, Lady Macbeth reveals ambition that leads her to her personal destruction. Lastly, Macbeth becomes showered in greed that leads him to do horrible deeds. Greediness can lead you do issues you have by no means believed of performing.

Banquo says “My noble partner You greet with present grace and wonderful prediction, of noble possessing and of royal hope, that he appears rapt withal. To me you speak not. If you can appear into the seeds of time, and say which grain will develop and which will not, Speak, then, to me, who neither beg nor fear, Your favors nor your hate” (Act I, iii, 55-62). Banquo, who seems to be a noble man, also displays his greed by wanting to know a excellent prediction just like Macbeth Banquo reveals his greed by committing the sin of omission. After, Duncan’s death, Banquo talks to himself “As the weird women promised: If there come truth from them/As upon thee, Macbeth, their speeches shine/Why, by the verities on thee made good, /Could they be my oracles as nicely/And set me up in hope?” (Act III, i, 2-ten). Banquo does not reveal the secret of the prophecies and his suspicion about Macbeth due to the fact he believes that his prophecy will not come accurate if he exposes this secret info. Even though, Banquo did not act towards his greed, but his greediness of keeping secrets of the prophecies lead him to his own death. A guarantee among Macbeth and Banquo, stops him from telling their secrets. Macbeth promises to honor him and that tends to make it even tougher for Banquo to reveal the secret. There are some very good qualities but also undesirable qualities in human nature that leads to their downfall.

Shakespeare shows a lot stronger greed in Lady Macbeth. Soon after hearing about the witches’ prophecies, Lady Macbeth reveals her true ambitions. For the duration of Shakespeare time, Shakespeare showed a female character as kind and obedient. However, Macbeth presents a extremely dark image of a female character that becomes evil in her desires for the future. Lady Macbeth convince her husband to act towards his desire and his fate. As she knows, Macbeth does not have the guts to do it so she manipulates him “Was the hope drunk from this time/Such I account thy adore, Art thou afeard/To be the exact same in thine own act and velour/As thou esteem’st the ornament of life, /And reside a coward in thine own esteem, /Letting I dare not wait upon I would, /Like the poor cat I the adage?” (Act I, vii, 35-44). In Macbeth, Lady Macbeth does not only carry out her personal role but she also provokes her husband into taking an action to accomplish her desires. Lady Macbeth’s organic humanity is displayed when she is not in a position to kill Duncan herself due to the fact he resembles her father. This shows that she is attempting to suppress her human nature and permit her ambition to rule. Even so, even following reaching her achieved objective, she is discontent throughout the rest of the play. Lady Macbeth expresses her feelings, but not to Macbeth “Noughts had, alls spent. /Where our wish is got without having content material: /Tis safter to be that which we destroy /Than by destruction, dwell in doubtful joy/why do you keep alone, /Of sorriest fancies your companions generating what’s carried out is accomplished.” (Act III, ii, 6-14). Even with her dissatisfaction, she keeps her emotion to herself in order to maintain her throne. The greed in human nature is so sturdy that it can overtake morality.

Finally, and the most drastically, Lady Macbeth encourages Macbeth to act upon his greed, and leave his morals behind. Shakespeare shows Macbeth as evil from the starting of the play. In his 1st entrance, he expresses his feelings of the day by saying “So foul and fair a day I have not seen.” (Act I, iii, 39). Because Macbeth believes that great is bad and undesirable is very good, his ambition overtakes his morals and standards. For that reason, Shakespeare shows that humans can represent both excellent and evil. Macbeth reveals his need of killing King Duncan when he is left alone in his chamber. I have not spur/To prick the sides of my intent, but only/Vaulting ambition, which oerleaps itself/And falls on the other. (Act I, vii, 25-28). Macbeths values are shown by way of his speech as he expresses hatred for killing Duncan.Lady Macbeth convinces her husband which leads him to act upon his deed. Later, Macbeth kills Banquo simply because of greediness. Macbeth feels insecure since of Banquo’s prophecies “When very first they put the name of king upon me,/And bade them speak to him then prophet-like/They haild his father to a line of kings:/Upon my head they placed a fruitless crown,/And put a barren scepter in my gripe,/Thence to be when chd with an unlined hand,/No son of mine succeeding. (Act III, i ,62-68). Macbeth betrays his friendship since he believes that he had committed a horrible deed not for his descendants, but for Banquo’s. Even even though Banquo had been so sort and loyal to him, Macbeth kills him to avoid Banquo’s son from gaining the crown he has killed for. When when greed overrules humanity, it will continue to control and force them to make harsh decisions.

Throughout the play, Shakespeare presents a dark side of human nature, with greed and ambition overcoming morality. Initial, by illustrating Banquo’s greed in order for his kids to inherit the throne. Secondly, Lady Macbeths ambition overtakes her, and alternatively of supporting her husband, she pushes him to evil. Lastly, Macbeth permits his aim and desires to handle his life and lead him to a betrayal of Duncan, Banquo, and his own morality.